In this week’s edition of What’s Going On, I’ve got the hottest releases coming your way from Floating Points, YUNGBLUD, Ariana and the Rose, gürl, and Milky Chance. There’s something here for everyone! As always, if you dig what you hear, be sure to stream and follow the artists.
Floating Points – UK DJ-producer Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points is out now with his new single “Vocoder.” After wowing listeners with last year’s collaborative album Promises that saw him teaming up with American jazz great Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, the world was clamoring for more new music from Floating Points and it doesn’t disappoint. “Vocoder” isn’t just a certified floor-filler and triumphant rave-up track, it also speaks to the versatility of the talented electronic musician. From imaginative cross-genre collaborations to pure dance-club escapism, Floating Points can do it all.
Listen to Floating Points’ new single “Vocoder” below.
YUNGBLUD – Enigmatic pop sensation YUNGBLUD is back with “The Funeral”, his brand new single. With pop-punk being all the rage and countless new artists mining the sounds from that genre’s early to mid-2000s peak, “The Funeral” feels more like YUNGBLUD pulling from Billy Idol. As an added treat, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne appear in the music video for the rocking new track. Describing what inspired “The Funeral”, YUNGBLUD says: “The lyrics are literally me listing off everything I’m insecure about because if you identify with what you don’t like about yourself and own it, no one can say anything that you haven’t already said to yourself. You become bulletproof. This song’s about owning those insecurities and just being fucking fearless. It’s about ego, death, rebirth and fucking dancing on your grave. Inviting everyone to join you, but if you’re on your own and you’re the only one dancing – that’s fine too.”
Listen to YUNGBLUD’s new single “The Funeral” below.
Milky Chance – German pop duo Milky Chance draws inspiration from The Mamas and the Papas on their new single “Synchronize.” What starts out as a slice of bright California sunshine pop quickly gives way to a pulsating dancefloor-ready banger. That might sound idiosyncratic on paper, but it definitely works. Discussing the meaning behind “Synchronize”, guitarist-singer Clemens Rehbein says: “When you’re in love and feel that perfect synchronization with someone, it’s almost as if nothing else matters. Your worries, your anxieties, they just disappear, and all that’s left is love.”
Listen to Milky Chance’s new single “Synchronize” below.
gürl – “Gucci, Honey, Dirty Money” is the hot new single from gürl, a wonderfully subversive band of young rockers coming out of Bristol, England. They describe themselves as “antipop” and “a fashion brand posing as a band” which feels incredibly accurate. gürl’s extremely online and perfect for TikTok aesthetic belies their heavy, dirty, and ugly (in the best way) sound. What’s “Gucci, Honey, Dirty Money” all about? Vocalist Joshua Dalton says: “‘Gucci, Honey, Dirty Money’ is our most outrageous track yet. It is a phat anthem about constantly being told you’re not ready, that you have to wait for your dreams just a little longer again and again and again until you finally take matters into your own hands. Just like our band, the track is dangerous, it’s glam, it’s heavy, it’s camp, it’s sarcastic, it’s narcissistic, it’s ironic, and most importantly, it goes hard.”
Listen to gürl’s new single “Gucci, Honey, Dirty Money” below.
Ariana and the Rose – Ariana and the Rose got her year kicked off with a great performance on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and now she’s back with her new single “Setting Me Free.” Inspiring, anthemic, and with a hard-hitting beat, “Setting Me Free” is exactly the kind of big glittery pop smash the world needs right now. Speaking on how the lockdown influenced “Setting Me Free”, Ariana says: “During the first few months of lockdown I, like so many people, was really left to just sit with myself and my thoughts and it pushed me to take the time and space to really delve into past traumas and relationships and work through it all. I was writing my album while simultaneously taking a hard look at any blocks or things I hadn’t been dealing with. This song was born out of that work.”
Listen to Ariana and the Rose’s new single “Setting Me Free” below.
